UCSD watermelon-smashing tradition ended after more than 50 years following incident

The UCSD Watermelon Drop, in which the melon is dropped seven stories from Urey Hall in an effort to create the largest possible splat, is the school’s oldest tradition. But not every tradition is worth perpetuating, a fact that was made clear after a Coronado High alum who attended UCSB and brought that school’s tradition of tortilla tossing following athletic victories back to his hometown high school. When the tortillas ended up getting tossed at the mostly-Latino members of the visiting team after a championship basketball game, a social firestorm erupted. Amid cries of racism, the school’s coach was fired, and CIF revoked Coronado’s championship title. Now, echoes of that hateful moment are being heard up in La Jolla, after this year’s drop sent watermelon fragments spattering all over a group of African-American students who were walking near the drop zone. The school was quick to apologize, and vowed never to authorize another watermelon drop, but not everyone was satisfied. “Everybody knows that UCSD has a Black problem,” says activist LeBlack Livesmatter. “From the noose in the library to the Compton Cookout to the whiteatucsd Instagram account, there is a clear pattern. Frankly, given the historic racist associations between Blacks and watermelons, I’m surprised they let it go on as long as they did. Or rather, I’m not surprised.”